Young Paloma was thrilled: Daddy had agreed to help out at her school charity auction.
But he was no ordinary father. He was Antony Gormley, the uber-fashionable sculptor and darling of New Labour – and he had offered to give the winner of the auction a tour of his studio. Better still, he would give the tour himself. Clearly, this was not a typical school charity event with a tombola or auction pledges such as vouchers for local stores, a specially baked birthday cake or a pair of tickets to a Premiership football match. Top of the form: Lord Gould, with his daughter Georgia (left) and Alastair Campbell’s partner Fiona Millar, both former pupils of Camden School For Girls The involvement of the feted creator of The Angel Of The North, near Gateshead, and the man behind the proposed building of a 12-metre sculpture of a naked man on Seattle’s world-famous waterfront, suggested something-much more exclusive. Other prizes offered in the auction included gifts donated by prominent figures from the worlds of arts and showbiz. Many of these were key luminaries – and beneficiaries – of New Labour. For example, Andrew Motion, appointed poet laureate by Tony Blair, was there. So, too, was Philip Gould, the former PM’s polling guru, and his millionairess wife, Gail Rebuck, head of publishing giant Random House (who gave a selection of books to auction). Sir Nicholas Serota, the Tate Gallery supremo, donated tickets to an exclusive exhibition. Andrew Lamb, photographer of Vogue magazine, offered a free photoshoot, which caused a particular stir among the teenage girl pupils.
At the auction itself, Gould and Motion became involved in a furious bidding war for tickets to Garsington Opera, donated by Steuart Bedford, the conductor. (Gould eventually won with a bid of £550).